Vehicle OEM General Motors (GM) has revealed an action plan for resuming battery production that includes both hardware and software remedies following a series of fires in electric vehicle packs.
The company’s battery maker LG Energy Solutions’ (LGES) plants in Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan, US, have resumed production and the LG Chem subsidiary is adding capacity to provide more cells to GM.
LGES paused battery production after two manufacturing defects— a torn anode and a folded separator— were found to have caused battery fires in GM’s Chevy Bolt EV and EUV vehicles.
LGES has implemented new manufacturing processes and has worked with GM to review and enhance its quality assurance programs to provide confidence in its batteries moving forward, say GM.
The battery maker said it will initiate these new processes in other facilities providing cells to GM in the future.
As a result, replacement battery modules will be shipped to dealers as soon as mid-October.
GM is prioritising Chevy Bolt EV and EUV customers whose batteries were manufactured during specific build timeframes where GM believes battery defects appear to be clustered.
Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said: “Resuming battery module production is a first step and we’ll continue to work aggressively with LG to obtain additional battery supply.
“In addition, we’re optimistic a new advanced diagnostic software will provide more convenience for our customers.”
Prioritised battery replacement
GM has established a notification process that will inform affected customers when their replacement modules will be available.
The new batteries will include an extended battery eight-year/100,000-mile limited warranty (or eight-year/160,000 km limited warranty in Canada).
GM will begin launching a new advanced diagnostic software package that will increase the available battery charging parameters over existing guidance within 60 days.
The diagnostic software will detect specific abnormalities that might indicate a damaged battery in Bolt EVs and EUVs by monitoring the battery performance.
The software will alert customers of any anomalies and prioritise damaged battery modules for replacement.
GM intends that further diagnostic software will allow customers to return to a 100% state of charge once all diagnostic processes are complete— this follows instructions to limit charge to 90% to avoid fire concerns.